Paste-tube.



W. L. CLARK.

PASTE TUBE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.17, 1907.

953,373. Patented Mar. 29, 1910.

pnrrnn s ra'rns PATENT onnion.

WALTER Il- CLARK, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

' PASTE TUBE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented 11:11. 29, 1910.

Application filed January 17, 1907. Serial No. 352,697.

' following is a specification.

This invention relates to packages or receptacles for viscous or powdery materials, and more particularly to that type of receptacle which comprises a rigid tube having anoutlet at one end and a piston contained within the tube and provided with means for forcing it forward to expel the material therefrom, my improvements being intended to provide a light, durable and practical receptacle of this sort which will be simple and inexpensive in construction and will also have certain other advantages hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanying drawings,-Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through a receptacle made in accordance with my invention, partially emptied of its contents; Fig. 2 is a cross section on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1 ,Fig. 3 is a plan view of the piston shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and Fig; 4 is a view in longitudinal section of a slightly modified form of piston.

The receptacle illustrated in the drawings consists of a rigid cylindrical tube 2 provided at one end with a central nozzle 3 or other suitable outlet, which nozzle may be externally screw-threaded to receive a removable cap 4 for closing the same when desired. That end of the tube 2 which carries the nozzle 3 is curved outwardly or forwardly somewhat, as shown at 5, and the piston, in the form shown at 6 in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, is stamped from sheet metal and has a short central neck or tubular portion 7 being also shaped to conform substantially to said end portion 5 of the tube 2, so that it will completely expel the contents of the tube when forced to the extreme front end of the latter. The convex contour thus given to the piston greatly strengthens and stiifens the same, when made of sheet metal, so that it can be made of stock which is much thinner than would be required if the piston were flat, and which in practice is just thick enough to permit the neck 7 to have internal screw threads tapped in it. Said piston is originally located at the rear end of the tube 2, behind the material with which the same is filled, and is forced for- Ward as desired by means of a rod 8 which CLARK, a 1

extends longitudinally within the tube from one end to the other, or substantially so, and passes through the neck 7, being screwthreaded throughout the operative portion of its length to fit the internal threads on said neck. I At its rear end therod 8 passes through the corresponding end of the tube 2, and is provided on the exterior of the latter with operating means such as a milled head 9, this end of the tubebeing preferably closed by means of a concave sheet metal cap 10 set into the tube, as shown, so as -to provide a spacefor the reception of the head 9 and thus. protect the latter from liability to injury as well as from being turned accidentally.

It will be seen that the location of the neck 7 with respect to the rest of the piston is such that the point of engagement of the rod 8 with said piston is somewhat in advance of the periphery of the latter, the result being that the greater portion of the piston is drawn rather than pushed forward, so that said piston. has no tendency to become cramped or slanted in the tube and hence does not require to be provided at its periphery with a broad guiding surface. or the like for the purpose of preventing such cramping or slanting and the strains on the rod 8 and the engaging screw threads which would be incident thereto. This feature contributes to the possibility of making the piston of thin sheet metal as above described withoutdetriment to the durability and capacity for practical operation of the device, as willbe evident.

In the construction illustrated in full lines in Fig. 1 the threaded rod 8'has no bearin on the cap 10 to resist a rearward or outwar movement of said rod but is freely movable through said cap in either direction, and in this case the piston is not forced forward by turning the rod 8 but by screwing the latterbackward through the piston and tube for a suitable distance, according to the quantity of material which it is desired to force out of the tube, and then pushing said rod for-- depend upon the distance through which the rod 8 is screwed backward through the "piston in case said rod is then pushed forward to the limit of its movement. A receptacle embodying this feature of my'invention is thus particularly adapted for use in situations where the amount of material expelled therefrom cannot be determined by in Fig. 1, in which case the piston cannot be moved in either direction except by rotating said rod. In this case some means for preventing rotation of the piston should be provided, and 111 Figs. 2 and 3 I have shown an arrangement for this purpose according 25.

to which the tube 2 is made .of a sheet of metal bent into cylindrical form and having its meeting edges interlocked to form a seam 1-2, "which scam projects into and extends longitudinally within the interior of the tube and serves as a guiding rib, the piston being provided with a notch 13 adapted to receive this rib and to slide along the same, and being thus prevented from rotating. The exterior of the tube is thus left smooth and free from projections, whilethe expense of forming a special or additional guiding rib is avoided. In case the rod 8 is adapted to move longitudinally through the rear end of the tubeno such rib will ordinarily be necessary, as the frictional resistance to the rotation 'of the piston will'be su'tlicie nt to permit therod Sto be screwed backward through it, but said rib may nevertheless be retained as an incident to the manufacture of the tube 2 in the manner described.

The form of piston shown in Fig. a is so constructed'as to make a practically t'luidtight fit with the interior of the receptacle,

' being particularly designed for use in cases where the receptacle is to contain a material which is so soft or nearly tluid that it would be liable to leak out through the cap 10 around the rod 8 if allowed to get behind the piston. This form of piston comprises a thin-fiat disk let of cork or similar material clampedagainst the rear face of a body por tion 15 by means of a thin disk 16 secured to the .part 15 by pins 17 or the like, said disk 1% being of a size to make a. close fit with the interior of the receptacle. The body portion 15', which may conveniently be made of wood, conforms in contour on its front side to the front end portion of the receptacle, audit and the disk are of slightly less diameter than the cork disk 14 so as to permit the latter to conform with accuracy to the interior of the receptacle. The internal threads for engagement with the rod 8 may be formed on either or both of the parts and to. and the operation of this form of piston is the same as that of the piston 6, except that the cork disk provides a tight packing between the body portion of the piston of which it forms a part and the receptacle in which it moves.

I claim as my invention:

1. A. receptacle of the character described, comprising a tube having an outlet atone end, a piston adapted to slide longitudinally in said tube, and a rod provided with an externally screw -threaded portion passing through the piston, in threaded engagement therewith, and adapted to extend beyond said piston in both directions, said rod being movable in an endwise direction through one end of the tube, without rotation.

2. A receptacle of the character described, comprising a tube having an outwardlyprojecting front end provided with a central outlet, a piston conforming substantially in contour to said front end of the tube and having a central perforation provided with internal screw-threads, and a rod provided with an externally screw-threaded portion passing through the threaded perforation in the piston and adapted to extend beyond the latter in both directions, said rod being movable in an endwise direction through the rear end of the tube, Without rotation.

23. A receptacle of the character described, comprising a tube having an outwardly-projecting front end provided with an outlet and closed at its rear end by a set-in cap to provide a recess as described, a piston conforming substantially in contour to'the front end'of the tube and having a central perforation provided with internal screw threads, and a rod provided with an externally screwtihrcaded portion passing through the threaded perforation in the piston and adapted to extend beyond the latter in both directions. said rod being movable in an endwise direction through the rear end of the tube, without rotation, and being provided on the exterior of the tube with operating means.

4-. A receptacle of the character described, comprising a cylindrical tube made of sheet metal and formed with an internally-projecting longitudinal seam, said tube having an outwardly-projecting front end provided with an outlet and being closed at its rear end by a set-in cap to provide a recess as described, a notched piston conforming sub stantially in contour to the front end of the tube and having a central perforation provided with internal screw-threads, and a rod provided with an externally screw-threaded portion passing through the threaded per foration in the piston and adapted to extend beyond the latter in both directions,- Which is internally screw threaded, and a said rod being movable through the cap in threaded -rod passing through the neck of an endwise direction, Without rotation, and said piston in operative engagement therebeing provided on the exterior of the tube with and through one end of the tube. 15 5 with operating means. i In testimony Whereof,Ihave hereunto sub- 5. A receptacle of the character described, scribed my name this 3d day of January comprising a tube having an outwardly 1907. projecting end provided with an outlet, a WALTER L. CLARK. sheet-metal piston conformin substantially Witnesses: 13 in contour to the outlet end 0? said tube and M. E. STODDART,

i F. S. TUTTLE.

having a central, forwardly-extending neck 

